Reaction Paper-Trial of Gabriel Fernandez Social Sciences Essay

Reaction Paper-Trial of Gabriel Fernandez
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Reaction Paper-Trial of Gabriel Fernandez
Part 1
The documentary on the Trial of Gabriel Fernandez, filmmaker Brian Knappenberger investigates the mysterious death of an 8-year old Californian boy in 2013. The investigative report shows that the result of his death was as a result of prolonged abuse from his mother and his boyfriend (Knappenberger, 2020). The incident leads to an uproar across Los Angeles County, demanding justice and accountability. The six-episode documentary covers the inside details of the trial (Knappenberger, 2020). Furthermore, Brian investigates government systems that were responsible for protecting Gabriel. It appears that government officials had received reports on Gabriel's harassment from her parents but fail to take action on time. Brian shows how the death of Gabriel Fernandez serves as an essential wake-up call to examine the role of government policies in protecting children. The purpose of this paper is to provide a reaction to Gabriel Fernandez's trial as well as the roles and responsibilities of the mandated reporter.
After watching the Trial of Gabriel Fernandez on Netflix, I was not only shocked but also annoyed by how the U.S justice failed a young and innocent young boy. Gabriel was repeatedly abused at home with the current policies that protect children from such abuse. What amused me more was the fact that there were people in the neighborhood who could have raised the alarm and inform government officials. Instead, the boy silently experienced physical abuse that eventually caused his painful death. I enjoy watching a real-life documentary, but this one left me totally infuriated and so sorry for the poor boy. However, when the filmmaker interviews David about what had happened to the boy. He appears to have missed the opportunity of why and how David came to be deported by ICE (Knappenberger, 2020). The responses would help the filmmaker connect that to other forces that led to Gabriel's death.
Furthermore, there are some stories within the video that are a bit confusing. For instance, I was not able to pick out who was Gabriel's teacher when the reporter shows a photo of her alongside the other three teachers. In my opinion, the filmmaker did not know how to include that moment into the film.
The primary responsibility of protecting Gabriel at the age of 8 years can only be directed to the Department of Children and Family Services. It appears that during seven months when the caseworkers from the department were investigating Gabriel's abuse, the evidence accumulated, and still, they never intervened (Baskin, 2019). Therefore, we can only blame them for their laxity which costed the life of a promising boy. Merritt, one of the investigators when interviewed five years later after the incid...